Peeing Red And Other Great Things About Beets

Despite the fact that they make you pee red, beets are awesome for many other reasons as well!

Beets are full of betaine which promotes a healthy liver. A healthy liver breaks down fats in a more efficient manner therefore aiding weight loss and preventing fatigue and nausea. A healthy liver also is more capable of ridding the body of alcohol – possibly why beets are so popular in Eastern Europe (zing!).

Beets are chock full of antioxidants that rid the body of nasty free radicals. Beets are especially thought to be quite useful in the prevention of lung and skin cancer.

Speaking of lungs, beets are exceptionally helpful when it comes to cardio-vascular health. Therefore, all of us runners should be on the beets at least once per week, if not more.

Beets are also a great source of calcium, magnesium and potassium with a spot of vitamin C added in for good measure. When you use the greens, as well, the calcium amount goes through the roof. Boiled beet root and beet greens are great on their own and make a great compliment to any meal.

Now, to the fun part. Beeturia. Some may find it gross. But, peeing red is pretty darn cool! It sometimes can take overnight for the effects of the beet dye to reach the bladder. Don’t forget in the morning that you had beets the night before! The red urine could be quite a scare if you think it really is blood and not the natural dye of the food you ate for dinner.

Beeturia doesn’t affect everyone the same, but eat enough beets and you’ll be seeing red. It’s a great party joke and probably a really good prank to pull in the dressing room shower after the hockey or football game (not that I would ever do this or condone doing this...).

In other news...

Ricardo has not sprouted yet. My avocado project that I mentioned in this earlier post, is still waiting to spread its wings. Ricardo is looking a little shrivelled and possibly water-logged. I hope this is a good sign.

Also...

I’m very disappointed in myself. I missed a chance to trip down to Toronto and run around on the subway in my gitch. This last Saturday was apparently ‘ride the subway in your underwear day’ or something like that. I’m not even sure what the cause was if any, but missing a chance to walk around half naked in one of the largest cities in the world is a major letdown. There’s always next year...

Check out these other great posts:

In The Beginning...
Book Review: The Man Who Swam The Amazon
Uh Oh! Does The Beer You Drink Contain Animal Products?